How I Learned to Love Armand Hug

Jeff Barnhart: Hal, one of the highlights for me while exploring the music of cornetist Johnny Wiggs and banjo/guitar/vocalist Edmond “Doc” Souchon was the tasty and often surprising piano tickling of one Armand Hug. It seems I sometimes use this column as a confessional. Back in my high school days, I found an old compilation LP in a jumble shop and there were several tracks featuring the three musicians I mention above. While I grooved on the sounds of Wiggs and Souchon, I didn’t like what I was hearing from the piano player. In fact, I was so flummoxed by it I put that album away (can’t even find it now…). So, when you sent sides for our listening journey over the past few columns and I saw the unforgettable name of Armand Hug in the personnel, I didn’t know what to think.

What I now think is that Mr. Hug is my current favorite piano player and that I simply wasn’t ready for the aural chiaroscuro emanating from his dexterous digits! I mean, sometimes the guy changes hats every eight bars, nodding to a past great without ever merely copying. The whole luscious sound stew was simply too rich for me back in my virginal jazz days. But NOW, I’m ready!

Hug was amazing, and reminded me, at least in his individuality, somewhat of Don Ewell, who also should be better known but is MUCH more recognizable a name to even the casual classic jazz fan than is Armand Hug! What happened? Did Hug not enjoy the opportunities that Ewell and others would be presented?

Hal Smith: Jeff, I think one of the main reasons is that while Ewell performed across the US and in Europe and Asia, Hug did not perform outside New Orleans. He received many offers to play out-of-town gigs, such as Club Hangover in San Francisco, but chose to stay in the Crescent City.

Armand Hug was born in 1910 and according to the “Music Rising” website hosted by Tulane University, he was already playing in public—accompanying silent movies—by 1924. At age 16 he worked with clarinetist Harry Shields (brother of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band clarinetist Larry Shields) at the Fern Café. One major event in Hug’s formative years occurred following a 1928 concert in New Orleans by Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra. Trumpeter Paul Mares hosted a jam session which included Hug, Frank Trumbauer, Izzy Friedman, Eddie Miller, Monk Hazel, and Bix Beiderbecke. Hug, seated at the piano, asked Bix about the chords for the Beiderbecke composition “In A Mist.” Hug recalled, “He stood in back of me and put his hands over my shoulders and played the parts for me. Believe me, I shall never forget that piano lesson.”

Hug played with the great New Orleans Owls, but did not record with them. His first recording session was in 1936—with New Orleans trumpeter Sharkey Bonano. Though he worked primarily as a soloist in the 1940s, he appeared with a band led by Doc Souchon at the first concert of the New Orleans Jazz Club and he played on the 1949 Johnny Wiggs recording session for New Orleans records.

My first exposure to Armand Hug’s music was in the late 1960s, when I found his 78 of “The Cosey Rag” and “Frog-I-More Rag” at a garage sale. I barely noticed the accompaniment by John Senac (bass) and “Little Abbie” Brunies (drums), since the piano playing on “The Cosey Rag” was such a knockout! I hear echoes of Hug’s playing on Steve Pistorius’ version of “The Cosey Rag” with my Down Home Jazz Band in 1996 and Andrew Oliver’s on his Ragtime New Orleans Style, Vol. 3 album. What do you think about this performance, Jeff?

JB: It’s solid! I should mention that I’ve listened to both recordings you reference with Mssrs. Pistorius and Oliver. Since the tune is only two sections, I’m surmising this is a rag song by Shelton Brooks. Hug’s left hand is filled with “Jelly-like” fills in the first chorus, and he plays the first half of the ensuing verse with the hymn-like quality Jelly Roll would sometimes introduce new sections. Hug builds intensity throughout the recording, and I love how he returns to the melody each time during the built-in tag of the chorus, yet makes each time around fresh, whether with new phrasing or varying textures.

Hal, since you started with a “Huggian” interpretation of ragtime, I thought I’d latch on to another side you sent. This one, from 1949, is his trio rendition of Clarence Williams’s rag from 1916, “Wild Flower Rag.” While I enjoyed the spirited performance here, I was floored by the solo version I found from 1971 included in Swaggie’s 2008 release of solo piano by Hug called Memories of Old New Orleans. Whether it’s because he’s unfettered by locked-in rhythmic accompaniment or that he’s 23 years older, Hug sounds like a completely different player. He plays each section fairly straight the first time around, and then transforms it into a spectacular display of individuality! From daring breaks to syncopated bass to suspended, then elastic, rhythm, to a surprise tag, to a (surprisingly) tender coda, I’ve never heard anything like it! What do you think about this side I’m throwing in off-script?

HS: As you point out, the contrast between the 1949 and 1971 versions of “Wild Flower Rag” is unmistakable. The earlier record was made during the ascendant ragtime revival and is more straitlaced. The later performance never loses sight of the melody, but there are plenty of subtle variations on it in addition to the rhythmic devices you mentioned. The Swaggie company recorded Hug throughout the 1970s and those sessions really give us a portrait of a mature musician with a definitive style.

Let’s backtrack for a minute to 1949 and a song we talked about in our discussion on Doc Souchon: “You Cooked Your Goose With Me.” The band on this side consists of Hug, Raymond Burke, Fred Loyocano on guitar and vocal, and Pinky Wadlington on string bass. The side begins with a Stacy-like intro by Hug, upper-register accompaniment behind the vocal and an outstanding solo. (I hear some Joe Sullivan licks in there too.) Burke sounds as wonderful as ever on the final chorus, with even more of the “trumpet-style” piano keeping the temperature boiling. I’m so glad that our friend “Davey Tough” managed to find this recording and to preserve it on YouTube!

JB: While I noticed that the first half of the tune “You Cooked Your Goose With Me” is identical in harmony, feel, and partially in melody, to “You Brought A New Kind Of Love to Me,” I was gassed by Hug’s intro and then his terrific backing of Burke’s clarinet melody. After the vocal, Hug OWNS this side with an amazingly creative solo. Relaxed yet punchy, lyrical yet edgy, Hug wrings every possible effect out of this song in his solo, while interpolating some Jelly Roll Mortonesque flourishes…GOD, he’s awesome! And just listen to his accompaniment behind Burke’s solo. As good as Burke is, Hug dominates without attempting to upstage. He’s simply THAT creative. One semi-non sequitur: The version of this tune by The Milneburg Boys led by Doc Souchon that we reviewed in last month’s entry is, for me, far superior in feel and execution, particularly regarding the vocal by Doc himself: While Hug is only allowed a half-chorus there, that rendition is more memorable to me…it might be that Fred Locoyano’s vocal sounds like a cross between the stentorian ’30s crooners and the 1950s “Hey-let’s-have-a-variety-show-on-NBC” quality. Both versions are made infinitely better by Hug’s contributions!

Hal, after all this talk of fricasseed fowl, I’m hungry! What Hug delicacy will you now present for our aural gestation?

HS: As we have noted previously, Hug was a great fan of Bob Zurke. There are plenty of Zurke-isms on “Eye Opener”—with the addition of a rubato, Bix-like interlude from the creative musical mind of Armand Hug!

“Tea For Two” is also associated with Zurke, through recordings with the Bob Crosby Orchestra and Zurke’s own orchestra. On this record, Hug pays homage to Bob Zurke, with some references to Joe Sullivan, Jess Stacy, and some of his own ideas added for good measure. There is also a terrific bonus on this side: drum accompaniment from Ray Bauduc! His playing on the drum stoptime is a killer. Is there any question that Ray listened to a certain Warren Dodds?!?

JB: None at all, my friend!! Here, we could refer to Ray as “Baby Bauduc!” I’ll start with “Tea For Two.” Hug’s introduction is so hip, with that ostinato bass note below rhythmic right hand riffs. He mightily strides the first chorus, demonstrating the elusive quality of nonchalant muscularity only the best striders can achieve. A little Willie “The Lion” Smith homage transitions us to a looser second chorus, where Hug channels Bob Zurke during the 2nd eight bars, with Bauduc beautifully matching his texture and dynamics!

The second half of this chorus features the stoptime drum feature you mention, and Hal, I’ve heard it done on this tune so many times with lesser drummers who make it sound like a “Tap dance” stoptime: Bauduc never gives in to that temptation. He’s swinging all the way through! Hug gifts us a change of key and a delectable descending harmonic pattern for the first eight bars of the final chorus, a ragtimey right hand with descending walking bass in tenths for the second eight, Waller-esque pearly broken chords in the right hand for the third eight and after the final eight, a surprise return to the intro figures but with more pearly descending figures to round it out. What a magnificent, authoritative performance that both these giants share so seemingly effortlessly!

“Tea for Two” and “Eye Opener” were both performance and recording “go-to’s” for the late, great Ralph Sutton, and I’m going out on a limb here saying I prefer Armand Hug’s version of the latter over any others I’ve heard. The lovely intro sets up the arpeggiated melody of the first section, and Hug’s tempo lives up to the title of this song! I adore the rubato interlude heading us to the Bixian section you mention, Hal. Hug really caresses the piano for that brief moment and then takes off again! Hug really shines during the 2nd half of the ensuing chorus, playing the section that utilizes the chord sequence from the chorus of “At The Jazz Band Ball” in repetition with growing intensity. A four-bar tag quoting the first section of the piece leads us to a slowing, quieting close, almost as if Hug has decided to close his eyes once again.

HS: When Hug recorded “Little Rock Getaway” he stayed on the first strain (omitting the blues in F). However, Ray Bauduc is featured extensively and his New Orleans drumming is just marvelous. I read that when the Bob Crosby Orchestra was in New Orleans, Joe Sullivan sought out Armand Hug in a nightclub after hearing that Hug played “Little Rock Getaway” better than the composer! While I don’t think anyone could ever play the song better than Joe, this is an excellent version of it. Would you agree, Jeff?

JB: It’s superb!! Hug and Bauduc are a great duo! After the terrific stoptime drum solo, we hear Hug really go to town improvising on the entire refrain rather than only the bridge and the excitement grows! The final chorus features Bauduc backing Hug with a figure I’m sure you can identify, Hal. After a four-bar drum tag, Hug inexplicably plays the first four of the final eight bars of “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” and the duo romp it out!

Our next side is the first we’re hearing a full jazz band, and here Hug is the leader! “Armand Hug and his New Orleans Dixielanders” take us through a tune with a name as good as the melody: “I Never Knew What A Gal Could Do.” The playing is solid throughout, and I think I recognize some of the musicians from their playing, but at the risk of disseminating misinformation, I’ll request you reveal the lineup here and give us your thoughts on this lively number.

HS: I believe that rhythm that Ray Bauduc played on the last chorus is called the “train beat.”

The “New Orleans Dixielanders” is really a terrific band! We talked about trumpeter Mike Lala in the Doc Souchon article. His ensemble and solo playing is outstanding (and, to my ears, reminiscent of Don Kinch!). The clarinetist is Harry Shields—who was one of the very first bandleaders that Armand Hug worked with, in the 1920s. He plays a very pretty low-register solo. The great trombonist Bob Havens is in top form throughout the side. Hug’s piano solo shows a lot of influences, but most importantly it sounds like him. And did he ever know how to put a rhythm section together! Listen to how banjoist Joe Capraro, bassist Chink Martin, and drummer Monk Hazel really keep this side moving along. Also, I hear a number of similarities between Monk Hazel’s drumming and Ray Bauduc’s. I’m not sure where this one goes chronologically, but I’m pretty sure it was recorded after “Little Rock Getaway” and before the next track…

“Dixie Bug” is from a Good Time Jazz album: Recorded In New Orleans. It was recorded in 1956, with bassist Phil Darois and drummer Charlie Duke accompanying the pianist. Thematically, it is similar to the Andy Razaf/J.C. Johnson composition “Louisiana.” Hug sounds relaxed yet confident on this side, showing the influences of Stacy, Sullivan, Hines, and Zurke, but without losing his own identity. For me, this is one of the best sides we have chosen as an illustration of Hug’s capabilities.

JB: THAT was the very album I referenced in my intro to this edition of our column! I just wasn’t ready for Hug’s playing at that point. What a GAS to hear it now! Before I comment on “Dixie Bug” I have to echo your sentiments about Hug’s incredibly inventive solo romp on the “New Orleans Dixielanders” side; it leads into a final outchorus is among the most exciting I’ve ever heard! On “Dixie Bug,” I was knocked out by the second chorus with the contrapuntal figures Hug shares between hands! For a performer associated early in his career as a ragtime piano player, it’s astonishing that both his hands are equally facile! You named the players Hug was honoring, but as you aver, it’s all transformed into a personal statement.

A second full-band side, “My Pet” by George Finola and Chosen Few, includes old friends clarinetist Raymond Burke and bassist Sherwood Mangiapane, as well the legendary banjoist Danny Barker (on guitar here) and Louis Barbarin on drums. Highlights include the tight rhythm section, the trumpet ride, the clarinet solo with trombone backing from Paul Crawford, and the final ensemble with everyone playing their parts without OVERplaying: it’s pure New Orleans. BUT, the spectacular 32 bar solo essayed by Hug beats them all!

One of the finest solo turns I’ve ever encountered. He starts with Jess Stacy (and a terrific pulling back on the tempo in his right hand), then it’s over to Bob Zurke for eight bars, then on the first half of the bridge the trumpet right hand octave style of Earl Hines, than a two-bar Art Tatum phrase, more homage to Zurke, and then finally, as if to say “OK, I’ve shown you I can reference all these terrific players, now here I am,” his last eight bars can only be described as Hugian. What stands out to you here, Hal?

HS: This is one amazing ensemble! However, what really stood out for me was Hug’s full-on Hines playing on the second half of the bridge, with dazzling arpeggios in both hands. There are more examples of Hug playing Hines phrases on other recordings, but this example is especially impressive. As you said, the piano solo is the highlight of an all-around excellent performance.

Next, from the same 1971 session as “Wild Flower Rag” is Armand Piron’s composition “Day By Day.” I discovered this recording by accident—and I’m glad! What a beautiful song. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t better known. I can imagine it being sung by Lee Wiley, or by Fats Waller in one of his introspective moods. Armand Hug sure knew how to “play it pretty.”

JB: Hug embraces the tenderness of this piece, the first of a string of tunes with the same title (including 1945’s vehicle by the great Paul Weston, Sammy Cahn, and Axel Stordahl, and 1971’s song from the show Godspell) and YES, why isn’t it played at least as often as Piron’s “Mama’s Gone Goodbye,” “Bouncing Around,” and “Kiss Me Sweet?” What a beautiful performance by the second significant New Orleanian Armand. I advise readers and listeners turn the lights low, get an adult beverage (anything from bourbon to Ovaltine will do) sit back and luxuriate in the velvet sounds Armand Hug produces on this side. Hug presents a rubato version of the verse, then slides into the chorus, wrapping us in a warm “sound blanket” that keeps me repeatedly playing it. How I wish I’d been able to hear him in person.

Hal, are there any additional stories of interactions between Armand Hug and better known piano players besides the one you shared about Joe Sullivan searching out who he’d been told was playing his “Little Rock Getaway” better than him?

HS: In his extensive interview on Tulane’s “Music Rising” website, Hug mentions having met some of the pianists who influenced him. By the way, I found an earlier Hug recording of “Day By Day” but as far as I’m concerned, the version we are discussing is a crowning achievement for any pianist.

Hug met the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s cornetist and leader Nick La Rocca not long before La Rocca passed away. He recorded a tribute album with a group of musicians that included Sharkey Bonano, Mike Lala, Emile Christian, Chink Martin, Monk Hazel, and others and also co-composed a few songs with La Rocca. “Picnic at Milneburg” is one of those and it sounds radically different from the La Rocca compositions we know so well from the days of the ODJB. By the way, this track is on the same record as “Day By Day” and “Wild Flower Rag.” I just found a used copy of the album; can’t wait to hear all of the tracks!

JB: Hal, the final tune we have on the docket is Armand Hug’s loving, sooo relaxed interpretation of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke’s immaculate piano piece, “In a Mist!” Sadly, for my ears, the performance on this 1976 release is marred by a piano so out of tune it sounds overripe…it took me a couple of times listening through the side to be able to concentrate on Hug’s lovely playing. While Hug offers much less contrast between sections regarding tempo and dynamics than Bix utilized in his recorded version of his remarkable composition, this is made up for with an over-all feeling that more reflects the title. We have to thank Tim Fitak (Jazzguy1927 on YouTube) for putting this out there! The entire album was a 2-LP set, with 22 solo piano versions of pieces associated with Bix, and my only wish is that Hug had been on a piano on par with the quality of his ideas and the repertoire.

HS: As bad as the piano sounds, I am thankful that we have a recording of Hug playing the piece that Bix actually showed him how to play! There is quite a bit of commentary from Hug regarding Bix and his music contained in the “Music Rising” interviews. I encourage our readers to check that website out, especially since it also contains interviews with other New Orleans musicians we have written about.

Also, quite a few of the recordings we have mentioned are available as CDs on the associated George H. Buck Jr. labels (GHB, Jazzology, etc.) and can be ordered from jazzology.com. Just type in the name of the artist and all available albums will be displayed on the website. Most of the out-of-print LPs can be purchased from discogs.com.

In closing, we are not the only ones who think so highly of Armand Hug’s playing. Here is what a couple of his musical colleagues had to say about his great talent:

“…Hug was our selection, along with Ralph Sutton, as the two top-of-the-heap pianists of the past decade.” (Dr. Edmond Souchon – liner notes for Armand Hug Plays New Orleans Piano – Golden Crest CR 3045, released in 1958).

“As for Hug, any man should consider himself blessed to have such a pianist behind him. Taste, beat, form, technique – it’s all there.” (Paul “Doc” Evans – liner notes for Source To Delta/Doc Meets Doc – New Orleans Originals R-1929, released in 1964).

JB: Makes we wish even more I’d gotten to hear him! Next month, let’s explore a surprise late-career recording from trumpeter Lu Watters!